Tilt Investment Management Holdings PBC Sells 1,109 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Tilt Investment Management Holdings PBC reduced its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 24.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,391 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 1,109 shares during the period. Tilt Investment Management Holdings PBC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $550,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Financial Freedom LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 76.9% during the 3rd quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 230 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. BluePath Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the third quarter worth $39,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the first quarter worth $40,000. Finally, RVW Wealth LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials during the third quarter valued at $41,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Applied Materials Stock Down 2.7 %

NASDAQ AMAT traded down $5.38 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $194.51. 3,956,417 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,169,328. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $109.12 and a 52 week high of $214.91. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $202.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $169.06. The company has a market cap of $161.62 billion, a PE ratio of 22.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 2.71 and a quick ratio of 1.91.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $6.71 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.48 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 43.56% and a net margin of 27.03%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.03 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.82%. This is an increase from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is presently 15.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMAT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $180.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on Applied Materials in a research note on Tuesday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 target price on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Applied Materials from $156.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $170.00 to $211.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on Applied Materials from $185.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $201.50.

Applied Materials Company Profile

Applied Materials, Inc engages in the provision of manufacturing equipment, services, and software to the semiconductor, display, and related industries. The company operates through three segments: Semiconductor Systems, Applied Global Services, and Display and Adjacent Markets. The Semiconductor Systems segment develops, manufactures, and sells various manufacturing equipment that is used to fabricate semiconductor chips or integrated circuits.